In light of current unrest in Egypt, we turn our attention southwards to Sub-Saharan Africa, where political risk is rising in Cote d’Ivoire following last year’s disputed election, and in Uganda and Nigeria ahead of elections in February and April, respectively. Meanwhile, higher inflation threatens to bring instability to other countries in the region. BMI’s… [Read more]
Following recent troubles in North Africa, speculation has been rife about which countries will be next in the line of fire. Many commentators have rightly pointed the finger elsewhere in the Middle East; a few others have suggested that contagion risks are actually more acute South of the Sahara. In one of the ludicrous but… [Read more]
Africa has often been called the last frontier for investors, a place where only those with the strongest appetite for risk would ever dare to put their money. Well in the case of fixed income investors, it would appear that even this ‘final frontier’ has been reached – and it is starting to look a… [Read more]
Over the past several weeks we have heard about the gloomy outlook for consumer demand in developed markets. Household deleveraging in the US and the growing debt crisis in peripheral eurozone states suggest that a return to robust demand levels will be hard to come by. In this context, we examine the outlook for the… [Read more]
In this week’s Business Monitor podcast, Yoel Sano speaks to Lisa Lewin, Head of Africa Analysis, on her recent trip to Nigeria and Ghana. Lisa discusses both countries’ economic outlook for 2010, Nigeria’s banking sector and political crisis, and how Ghana’s forthcoming oil production promises to transform the economy.
Having lagged much of the global rally that kicked off in March 2009, Sub-Saharan African equity markets are at long last beginning to perk up. Interestingly, the major markets are also moving with a much greater degree of correlation than in previous years, suggesting that they are creeping onto the collective radar of international investors…. [Read more]
My colleagues and I have just returned from a research trip to Nigeria with some interesting insights. Generally, business is booming, with a host of banks, private equity funds and corporates reporting strong economic activity. The difficult-to-measure informal sector also seemed to be flourishing, with general commerce looking robust. (Image: Downtown Lagos) Incidentally, opinion seemed… [Read more]
